This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2002-37118, filed Jun. 28, 2002, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation switch assembly, and, more particularly, to a navigation switch assembly for allowing a user to change and select a desired user environment for using an information apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a navigation switch assembly can be employed in every electronic product, but is mainly used for compact-type wireless apparatuses such as a PDA, a notebook, an Internet terminal, and a remote controller.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional navigation switch assembly includes a navigation switch 82 mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) 80 and having an adjustment stick 83 disposed on an upper portion thereof, and a knob 84 having a pressing plate 81, which a user presses to change a screen.
Along a circumference of the knob 84 is formed a wing part 85, and in a lower portion of the knob 84 is formed a stick inserting hole 84a. The adjustment stick 83 protruding from the upper portion of the navigation switch 82 is inserted into the stick inserting hole 84a. 
Hereinafter, descriptions will be made about a process of assembling the conventional navigation switch assembly as constructed above.
The navigation switch 82 secured to the PCB 80 is mounted in a product casing 86, and then the knob 84 having the wing part 85 is placed to be fitted with the adjustment stick 83 protruding from the upper portion of the navigation switch 82, and finally the product casing 86 is assembled with the knob 84 being fitted in a mounting hole 87.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional navigation switch assembly assembled according to the above-described process, because the wing part 85 is caught in the product casing 86, the knob 84 is prevented from being removed from the product casing 86 to the outside even if a user pulls the knob 84 out of the product casing 86.
As above, the knob 84 is required to have the wing part 85 formed along the circumference of the knob 84 in order to prevent the knob 84 from separating from the product casing to the outside. Due to the presence of the wing part 85, the product casing inevitably has to be assembled in the final step of the assembly processing. Also there is a limit to the size of the upper end of the knob 84, i.e., the upper end of the knob 84 should not be larger than the mounting hole 87 opening formed in the upper side of the product casing.
Also, since the conventional navigation switch assembly is not allowed to variously change the design of the knob, it cannot be harmonious with the design of a product employing the navigation switch assembly. That is, it has been deemed in the field of the related art that there is a limitation of the design.
The present invention has been developed in order to solve the above problems in the related art. Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a navigation switch assembly allowing a knob to vary in its appearance or design.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a navigation switch assembly having a connecting portion for easy connection and separation of a knob and a holder such that the knob is fixedly connected to the holder and the knob is not separated from a product casing in operation.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
The foregoing aspects are realized by providing a navigation switch assembly, comprising: a navigation switch assembly, comprising: a navigation switch mounted on a printed circuit board, comprising: an adjustment stick protruding from an upper portion thereof; a knob, comprising: a first connecting portion; and a holder, comprising: a second connecting portion; wherein the first connection portion is to connect to the second connecting portion, and the first connecting portion is to connect to the adjustment stick.
In an embodiment, the navigation switch further comprises: a product casing, comprising: an opening through which the first connecting portion passes to connect to the second connecting portion.
In an embodiment, the holder is larger than the opening and an upper portion of the knob is larger than the opening.
In an embodiment, the casing is shaped to have a concave surface formed around the opening, and a height of the knob is equal to that of a surface other than the concave surface.
In an embodiment, the casing is shaped to have a concave surface formed around the opening, and a height of the knob is higher than that of a surface other than the concave surface.
In an embodiment, the knob further comprises a pressing plate to press the knob towards the switch to activate the switch, wherein the pressing plate comprises a friction opening to prevent sliding.
In an embodiment, the first connecting portion comprises: a pair of guide grooves and a pair of locking grooves, each pair being formed along an external circumference of a hollow shaft disposed at a lower end of the knob; and the second connecting portion comprises: a pair of ribs and a pair of tension ribs, each pair being formed along an inner surface of the holder.
In an embodiment, each of the guide grooves has a vertical guide groove and a horizontal guide groove connected to an end of the vertical guide groove; each of the locking grooves has a vertical shape; each of the ribs protrudes from the holder toward a center; each of the tension ribs protrudes from the holder along a circumference direction with a long length and has a locking protrusion formed at an end thereof; and the hollow shaft is fitted in the holder in a vertical direction such that the ribs are inserted into the vertical guide grooves and then the holder is rotated in a circumferential direction such that the ribs are moved to the horizontal guide grooves simultaneously with the locking protrusion being connected with the locking grooves.
In an embodiment, the connecting portion comprises: a pair of guide grooves and a pair of locking grooves, each pair being formed along an external circumference of a hollow shaft disposed at a lower end of the knob, each of each pair being opposed to the other of the pair; and a pair of ribs and a pair of tension ribs, each pair being formed along an inner surface of the holder, each of each pair being opposed to the other of the pair.
In an embodiment, each of the guide grooves has a vertical guide groove and a horizontal guide groove connected to an end of the vertical guide groove, each of the locking grooves has a vertical shape, each of the ribs protrudes from the holder toward a center, each of the tension ribs protrudes from the holder along a circumferential direction with a long length and has a locking protrusion formed at an end thereof, the hollow shaft is fitted in the holder in a vertical direction such that the ribs are inserted into the vertical guide grooves and then the holder is rotated in a circumferential direction such that the ribs are moved to the horizontal guide grooves simultaneously with the locking protrusion being connected with the locking grooves.
In the navigation switch assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is no reason to assemble the product casing in the final step of the assembly process because the knob and the holder are fabricated and assembled with each other separately from the product casing and the knob does not have a wing part like the conventional art. That is, after simply inserting the hollow shaft disposed at the lower portion of the knob into the product casing through the mounting portion, the knob is connected to the holder in the product casing. Accordingly, a shape of the knob can be designed in various ways regardless of the size and shape of the mounting opening of the product casing.
Also, by using the connecting portion for easy connection and separation, the present invention can provide a firm navigation switch assembly and prevent the knob from being separated from the product casing during operation.